This guide is for senior finance leaders in government departments and other public bodies. It sets out insights and good practice on monitoring and forecasting for better financial management in government. It is the fourth in a five-part series of guides, which follow the financial management lifecycle.
Jump to downloadsGood financial management is critical in the public sector. For public services to be efficient and productive, the effective management of public finances is essential.
This guide outlines how finance leaders across government can monitor budgets and their performance and ensure forecasting is effective.
It focuses on three principles:
- Promote a culture of accountability – leadership emphasises the importance of budget holders being accountable for monitoring financial performance and ensuring forecasts are accurate and realistic.
- Develop the right skills and capabilities – finance professionals possess the skills and capabilities to monitor effectively and forecast with precision and leverage these to elevate the quality of the organisation’s decision-making.
- Make the best use of data and information – high-quality data and information is used to enable better monitoring and more accurate forecasting, helping decision-makers respond to events quickly and effectively.
We have drawn insights from our reports, the experiences of our audit teams, and the thoughts of a range of senior finance decision‑makers through focus groups and interviews.
How to use this guide
Our guides are primarily for senior finance leaders within central government.
We set out what good looks like, what actions finance leaders can take and give practical tips. Our insights are not mandatory guidance, but will complement existing guidance provided to finance teams across government.
Actions and practical tips in the guide may be useful for other areas of the public sector and beyond.
Please note: the PDF has some interactivity that will not work in full-screen mode on your browser. To view it in full-screen mode, download the PDF to your computer and open it in Adobe Acrobat.
Financial management in government series
This guide is part of a series supporting financial management in government. We have also published:
- Enablers of success – looks at the fundamental themes that underpin each stage of the financial management lifecycle
- Strategic planning and budgeting – sets out how finance leaders can plan strategically and realistically in the face of an uncertain landscape
- Allocating resources – focuses on how finance leaders can allocate resources effectively when resources are scarce and trade-offs need to be made
The final guide in the series will be on reporting and will demonstrate how finance leaders can lead their teams to make the greatest impact to organisations on financial performance.
Sign up to our updates to get details of the next guide when it publishes.
